University of Chicago Press
The Perils of Global Legalism
Key Metrics
- Eric A Posner
- University of Chicago Press
- Paperback
- 9780226675756
- 8.9 X 5.9 X 0.8 inches
- 0.85 pounds
- Law > International
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
The first months of the Obama administration have led to expectations, both in the United States and abroad, that in the coming years America will increasingly promote the international rule of law--a position that many believe is both ethically necessary and in the nation's best interests.
With The Perils of Global Legalism, Eric A. Posner explains that such views demonstrate a dangerously naive tendency toward legalism--an idealistic belief that law can be effective even in the absence of legitimate institutions of governance. After tracing the historical roots of the concept, Posner carefully lays out the many illusions--such as universalism, sovereign equality, and the possibility of disinterested judgment by politically unaccountable officials--on which the legalistic view is founded. Drawing on such examples as NATO's invasion of Serbia, attempts to ban the use of land mines, and the free-trade provisions of the WTO, Posner demonstrates throughout that the weaknesses of international law confound legalist ambitions--and that whatever their professed commitments, all nations stand ready to dispense with international agreements when it suits their short- or long-term interests.
Provocative and sure to be controversial, The Perils of Global Legalism will serve as a wake-up call for those who view global legalism as a panacea--and a reminder that international relations in a brutal world allow no room for illusions.
Author Bio
Eric Posner is the Kirkland and Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Arthur and Esther Kane Research Chair.
His research interests include financial regulation, international law, and constitutional law. His books include Radical Markets (Princeton, 2018) (with Glen Weyl); Last Resort: The Financial Crisis and the Future of Bailouts (University of Chicago Press, 2018); The Twilight of International Human Rights (Oxford, 2014); Economic Foundations of International Law (with Alan Sykes) (Harvard, 2013); Contract Law and Theory (Aspen, 2011); The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic (with Adrian Vermeule) (Oxford, 2011); Climate Change Justice (with David Weisbach) (Princeton, 2010); The Perils of Global Legalism (Chicago, 2009); Terror in the Balance: Security, Liberty and the Courts (with Adrian Vermeule) (Oxford, 2007); New Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis (with Matthew Adler) (Harvard, 2006); The Limits of International Law (with Jack Goldsmith) (Oxford, 2005); Law and Social Norms (Harvard, 2000); Chicago Lectures in Law and Economics (editor) (Foundation, 2000); Cost-Benefit Analysis: Legal, Economic, and Philosophical Perspectives (editor, with Matthew Adler) (University of Chicago, 2001).
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Law Institute.
- Education
Harvard Law School - JD, magna cum laude, 1991- Yale University - BA, MA philosophy, summa cum laude, 1988
Source: The University of Chicago Law School
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